fix(channels): keep guided add quiet before selection

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 - CLI/config: explain strict JSON parse failures with a valid example and the plain-string escape hatch.
 - CLI/secrets: turn offline Gateway reload failures into actionable recovery text.
 - CLI/channels: explain missing or ambiguous channel selections with next commands.
+- CLI/channels: defer guided channel status collection until a channel is selected, keeping `openclaw channels add` first screen quieter.
 - Browser/Docker: detect Playwright-managed Chromium from `PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH` and the default Playwright cache on Linux, so Docker installs that persist `/home/node/.cache/ms-playwright` no longer need `browser.executablePath`.
 - Ollama: keep DeepSeek V4 cloud models thinking-capable even when Ollama Cloud `/api/show` omits the `thinking` capability, so `/think high` no longer rejects `ollama/deepseek-v4-*:cloud`.
 - ACPX/Claude ACP: keep foreground prompts waiting for their own result when autonomous task-notification results arrive during the same session, and retarget the patch for Claude Agent ACP `0.33.1`.

src/commands/channels.add.test.ts

@@ -42,6 +42,21 @@ const pluginInstallRecordCommitMocks = vi.hoisted(() => ({
   commitConfigWithPendingPluginInstalls: vi.fn(),
 }));
 
+const channelWizardMocks = vi.hoisted(() => {
+  const prompter = {
+    intro: vi.fn(async () => undefined),
+    outro: vi.fn(async () => undefined),
+    confirm: vi.fn(async () => false),
+    note: vi.fn(async () => undefined),
+    select: vi.fn(),
+    text: vi.fn(),
+  };
+  return {
+    prompter,
+    setupChannels: vi.fn(async (cfg: OpenClawConfig) => cfg),
+  };
+});
+
 const bundledMocks = vi.hoisted(() => ({
   getBundledChannelPlugin: vi.fn(() => undefined),
   getBundledChannelSetupPlugin: vi.fn(() => undefined),
@@ -73,6 +88,19 @@ vi.mock("../cli/plugins-registry-refresh.js", () => registryRefreshMocks);
 
 vi.mock("../cli/plugins-install-record-commit.js", () => pluginInstallRecordCommitMocks);
 
+vi.mock("../wizard/clack-prompter.js", () => ({
+  createClackPrompter: () => channelWizardMocks.prompter,
+}));
+
+vi.mock("./onboard-channels.js", async () => {
+  const actual =
+    await vi.importActual<typeof import("./onboard-channels.js")>("./onboard-channels.js");
+  return {
+    ...actual,
+    setupChannels: (...args: unknown[]) => channelWizardMocks.setupChannels(...args),
+  };
+});
+
 const runtime = createTestRuntime();
 
 function listConfiguredAccountIds(
@@ -309,9 +337,42 @@ describe("channelsAddCommand", () => {
       createTestRegistry(),
     );
     registryRefreshMocks.refreshPluginRegistryAfterConfigMutation.mockClear();
+    channelWizardMocks.prompter.intro.mockClear();
+    channelWizardMocks.prompter.outro.mockClear();
+    channelWizardMocks.prompter.confirm.mockClear();
+    channelWizardMocks.prompter.note.mockClear();
+    channelWizardMocks.prompter.select.mockClear();
+    channelWizardMocks.prompter.text.mockClear();
+    channelWizardMocks.setupChannels.mockClear();
+    channelWizardMocks.setupChannels.mockImplementation(async (cfg: OpenClawConfig) => cfg);
     setMinimalChannelsAddRegistryForTests();
   });
 
+  it("keeps guided channel setup lazy until the user selects a channel", async () => {
+    const config: OpenClawConfig = { channels: {} };
+    configMocks.readConfigFileSnapshot.mockResolvedValue({
+      ...baseConfigSnapshot,
+      sourceConfig: config,
+      config,
+    });
+
+    await channelsAddCommand({}, runtime, { hasFlags: false });
+
+    expect(channelWizardMocks.prompter.intro).toHaveBeenCalledWith("Channel setup");
+    expect(channelWizardMocks.setupChannels).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      config,
+      runtime,
+      channelWizardMocks.prompter,
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        deferStatusUntilSelection: true,
+        skipStatusNote: true,
+        promptAccountIds: true,
+      }),
+    );
+    expect(configMocks.writeConfigFile).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(channelWizardMocks.prompter.outro).toHaveBeenCalledWith("No channel changes made.");
+  });
+
   it("runs channel lifecycle hooks only when account config changes", async () => {
     configMocks.readConfigFileSnapshot.mockResolvedValue({
       ...baseConfigSnapshot,

src/commands/channels/add.ts

@@ -154,6 +154,8 @@ export async function channelsAddCommand(
         postWriteHooks.collect(hook);
       },
       promptAccountIds: true,
+      deferStatusUntilSelection: true,
+      skipStatusNote: true,
       onSelection: (value) => {
         selection = value;
       },